Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, are names that detectives are familiar with, not to mention their victims who survived.

Michele Chapman is one survivor of the serial killer, Derrick Todd Lee, aka the Baton Rouge Serial Killer. She bears the physical and mental emotional pain of her attacker.

The episode with Corazon Amurao, and some of her fellow nurses, when Richard Speck held them captive was a nightmare hard for her to forget.

The survivors of serial killers confront the most terrible ordeal unimaginable. Some never escape their captor while others frantically find a getaway as they star into the faces of evil. The assailant is often rough, tough, and even grisly and the victim is mercifully at the captor’s mercy. Surviving a car accident is one thing but trying to survive a serial killer, well, that is a whole different story. Some wonder if God is there with a helping hand lifting the victim to safety. These powerful stories of the survivors who confronted death in the face but found a way to flee, are overwhelming. While some are graphic, it is the truth, the fear they faced. The thoughts of wondering if they would ever see their loved ones again, finish college, get married, just a few thoughts that meander through their minds while being subjected to unexplained torture. Serial killing was not heard of much until the arrival of the Son of Sam in New York in 1976. Headlines had not been as loudly spoken since the episode of Jack the Ripper, in England with his mayhem of murders and once the events started; the loud boom was heard all over. They are the kind of next door neighbor no one suspects of doing anything wrong, some even groom cut well and friendly. They often fit so well, into society, it is hard to believe they are capable of such lewd crimes.

There But For the Grace of God is a true story of serial killers who definitely made a name for themselves. It is a story that will strike a nerve, and with this reader sent shivers down the spine. The events in the book are most painful but real things that happened to real people, sad but true and it makes one furious, sad and very angry. The impact on the victim is so powerful it is really hard to comprehend what they have been through as your heart goes out to them. Fred Rosen has compiled some victims, along with the serial killers in a book that is compelling. I was deeply moved by the ordeals each had suffered. He has done a great deal of research into some of the remarkable people that were able to flee to tell their story.

Cherokee
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books